HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS SOCCER: Notre Dame jump on Hamilton early, never look back

By
Kyle Franko, The Trentonian

Thursday, October 11, 2012

HAMILTON — When it comes to attacking trios, Notre Dame High coach Amy Hoyer has a good one.

Ty Horne, Vanessa Romulus and Julia Panko were all on target as the Irish scored three in the first seven minutes, cruising to a 3-0 road win over Hamilton.

“They are doing well,” Hoyer said. “They are finishing and that’s what we need.”

It took four minutes for Horne to get Notre Dame (10-3) off and running. The freshman latched on to a pass by Romulus and fired a low shot past Hornets goalkeeper Erin Septer.

Only a minute later, Romulus had the ball in the back of the net. After Hamilton failed to clear a corner kick, Romulus tapped in from close range.

Panko made it three in three minutes, lashing her shot into the top corner after Romulus’ strong hold up play.

“We all know where to be for each other,” Romulus said. “We know where to pass for each other.”

“It’s a combination of speed and skill and so it just goes well together,” Horne added.

Notre Dame’s quick start was also a relief for Hoyer, since the team was coming off a pair of losses.

“It was good to come out on top,” said the first-year coach. “Hamilton kept us under pressure the entire time, especially in that second half. It was a good way to come back after a couple losses.”

While the Irish made a fast start, Hamilton (7-6-1) never really got going.

The Hornets were coming off a 1-0 loss to Hopewell Valley earlier in the week and coach Anthony Tessein was hoping it would be his team to start quickly.

“It was frustrating,” said the Hornets’ boss. “We talked about it before the game. They were coming off a tough loss, as were we, and the coaches and I stressed that we wanted to come out strong because that is how you respond to a tough loss. I said that’s what Notre Dame is going to do and we have to ready for it, and clearly, we weren’t.”

Senior Loran Wyrough missed the game as she recovers from a leg injury and junior Samantha Barlow didn’t play in the first half, leaving the Hornets shorthanded.

Tessein said he hopes to have Wyrough at full strength in about a week.

Coming into the week, Hamilton had won seven of its last nine, but two straight defeats means Tessein’s team has work to do.

“Last week, I would have told you, absolutely, 100 percent we would be a team that caused problems,” Tessein said. “We’ve got some things we have to deal with before I’m willing to say we can be the team I think we can be. We have some work to do. Today wasn’t good.”

As for the Irish, they can continue to count on their terrific trio.

“We’re a team that plays like every minute is 0-0,” Horne said. “Our main goal is to play relentlessly. We don’t worry about if we make a mistake. We just keep playing and don’t get down.”